The 17th hearing was held in the trial of Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Erol Önderoğlu and Ahmet Nesin over their support for the “Editor-in-Chief on Watch” campaign organized in solidarity with Özgür Gündem, a pro-Kurdish newspaper in Turkey.
The court ruled that proceedings should await a response to a judicial instruction issued for Nesin’s defense statement to be taken.
ISTANBUL — The 17th hearing in the trial of Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, former chair of the Central Council of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB); Erol Önderoğlu, former Turkey representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF); and writer Ahmet Nesin was held at the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court.
The three are on trial on charges of “making propaganda for an organization,” “publicly inciting the commission of a crime” and “praising crime and a criminal” over their support for the “Co-Editor-in-Chief on Watch” campaign organized by the Özgür Gündem newspaper.
None of the defendants attended the hearing, while Önderoğlu’s lawyer, Abbas Yalçın, was present in court.
The court ruled to await a response to a judicial request issued for the defense statement of Ahmet Nesin, who is abroad, to be taken.
The hearing was adjourned until Dec. 24, 2026.
What happened?
Erol Önderoğlu, Şebnem Korur Fincancı and Ahmet Nesin were arrested in 2016 for taking part in the “Editor-in-Chief on Watch” campaign organized in support of the Özgür Gündem newspaper, which was later shut down by a decree-law (KHK). The three spent 10 days in prison.
Önderoğlu, Fincancı and Nesin were charged with “making propaganda for a terrorist organization,” “publicly inciting the commission of a crime” and “praising crime and a criminal.”
The Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court acquitted all three in 2019. The trial resumed after an appeals court overturned the acquittals on Oct. 20, 2020.
Since the retrial began, Ahmet Nesin, who lives abroad, has yet to give his defense statement regarding the decision overturning the acquittals. The court is awaiting a response to a judicial request sent abroad for Nesin’s defense statement to be taken.
